For ads-free news, click here.
On Monday, the Trump campaign opposed the Harris campaign’s sudden request to change the debate rules for the September 10 event on ABC News from muted to unmuted microphones.
A source told Politico Playbook that Harris seeks unmuted mics to avoid being interrupted. The dispute dates back to when President Joe Biden was still a candidate. Both campaigns had initially agreed to two debates, but Biden, as reported by CNN on June 15, insisted on muted microphones except for the speaking candidate.
“She’s more than happy to have exchanges with him if he tries to interrupt her,” the source said. “And given how shook he seems by her, he’s very prone to having intemperate outbursts and … I think the campaign would want viewers to hear [that].”
After both the Trump and Harris campaigns agreed to keep the September debate on schedule, the Harris campaign requested on Sunday that ABC News and other networks unmute the candidates’ microphones, according to CNN. The Trump campaign opposed this proposal in a statement to Playbook.
Senior adviser for Trump, Jason Miller, told Playbook on Sunday night the following:
“Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate,” senior adviser for Trump Jason Miller told Playbook on Sunday night. “The Harris camp, after having already agreed to the CNN rules, asked for a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements. We said no changes to the agreed upon rules. If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem. This seems to be a pattern for the Harris campaign. They won’t allow Harris to do interviews, they won’t allow her to do press conferences, and now they want to give her a cheat-sheet for the debate.”
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast is available below. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
